abefroman329

Pre-surgery I was taking 5 psyllium husk capsules twice a day because I had an anal fissure that was surgically repaired in 2014 and needed to not ever have that happen again, and was initially told I would need to stop post-surgery, although later I learned they were talking about the powdered Metamucil you mix with liquid and drink, because you would need to drink that faster than you can safely drink post-surgery. After several weeks of constipation and one VERY uncomfortable episode passing a blockage, plus reluctance to rely on Miralax long term, I went back on the same fiber regimen and have been regular ever since.

Interesting. I noticed that GNC now sells unflavored 100% whey protein powder and I almost bought some, but I have no idea what I’m currently eating that I could mix it into.

It was “highly recommended” that I lose 10% of my body weight. I did not and was still approved for surgery by both the surgeon and my insurance company (BCBS, not Kaiser). Having both a BMI over 40 and comorbidities probably helped.

I wouldn’t do that, it’s still been deep-fried.

So... for “smaller” read “tighter,” then?

If you’re talking about string cheese, some people have been allowed that as part of their soft foods stage. I did ok with it but had to eat it very slowly. It did help with hunger. If you’re talking about the deep-fried ones they sell at TGI Friday’s, though, absolutely not.

That’s just weird! The surgeon wants your A1C be,ow 7 so they know your diabetes is controlled and you won’t have complications from the surgery with healing. That was a requirement from my surgeon. Luckily mine has been below 7 for about 4 years. The good news is, I had my A1C checked as part of my annual physical and it fell from 6.2 to 5.2. My primary was “thrilled” (his words) and took me off the Janumet. No more diabetes meds at all! So you have that to look forward to.

My skin is not shrinking with me, and my primary told me at my physical that I would have leftover skin from where my belly was. There’s a guy in my support group who lost 200 pounds from the surgery, maybe even 300, and he has some obvious leftover skin above and below his beltline. If it’s that obvious when I get to goal weight, I’ll look into plastic surgery. It’d be worth it if it also meant my cellulitis scars went away.

No, they just want to make sure that, if you have sleep apnea, you’re aware of it and it’s under control.

Thanks, that’s sweet of you. I still take up a surprising amount of horizontal space.

I thought the general diet would be like when I was on Saxenda, where I could eat anything, but would eat less of it. That has not been the case. Flying coach has been...more comfortable, but not comfortable. And people are still avoiding sitting next to me on public transit. Maybe when winter is over for good and I’m not wearing bulky clothing, that will help. Ive not had the jarring experience of people being nicer to me that I had when I lost weight the first time. Which is good, since that just led to a lot of body dysmorphia.

Hasn’t been 3 months yet, but it feels like every week I’m seeing either my primary, the dietitian, or the surgeon, and no one has said I’m losing too fast. My primary is delighted, and my surgeon wants me to speak to other patients about my experiences.

There’s definitely variance between the scale at my primary’s office, the scale at the surgeon, and the scale at the dietitian. The latter two use those platform scales, my primary uses a smaller, bathroom-style one. Further complicating matters is the fact that primary takes off 2-3 pounds for clothing weight, depending on the season, and the others do not. At home I use the Fitbit Alta, which I like because it uploads the data to my Fitbit app.

Can’t go wrong with soup or chili.

Sometimes they’d put a blanket over my bottom half for modesty, sometimes not. I didn’t really care if I accidentally exposed myself. It’s a hospital, not a playground.

Yes. As I lose weight, I think about where I was the last time I was at this weight, and what I might have done differently between then and now. Right now I’m the lightest I’ve been in over 20 years, so that’s a lot to process.

Just being able to eat what I want, when I want, but I’m in talk therapy for that. Oh, and I am annoyed at perpetually having to buy smaller clothing. Luckily I already went thru the experience of having to give away expensive clothing several years ago and didn’t replace it with more expensive clothing, but it’s still annoying that I have a Rubbermaid bin full of shirts I bought for a cruise last fall that will probably be too big for me by the time it’s short-sleeves weather in Chicago.

I’m still finding chili, stews, and thick soups to be the easiest to tolerate, which probably wouldn’t make my dietitian happy. I might start experimenting with plant-based meat substitutes, which would make my wife happy.

I vote for resleeving. It may be less invasive, but the Emmi videos said you can expect to be in the hospital for several nights, up to a week, and I was out about 24 hours after my sleeve (and can’t stand the thought of being in there much longer). The sleeve seemed like a happy medium between the lap band (which my surgeon doesn’t even do anymore because the success rates are so low) and RNY. I really did not like the idea of having my intestines rearranged and, as you can see to the left, the sleeve has been a roaring success so far. Plus I understand the sleeve is less restrictive in terms of what foods you can tolerate long term.

I was fully nude under the gown until I went home. Side note: I was...not aware they would be shaving off a one-foot square of belly hair. That was a surprise when I woke up post-surgery.

Depends on the clinic. Mine was in 2011 and done at a facility. It was the worst night’s sleep I’ve ever gotten. My wife did an at-home study and I think I’d prefer to go in whenever I get a new one to see if I can get rid of the masks

I ate a doughnut about a week and a half after surgery and puked it back up, so that helped cure me of any desires to eat faster than what the plan told me to do. I would occasionally crumble up a few saltines and put them at the bottom of my strained cream soup; by the time I got to them, they were soft enough to tolerate.

“Regular” is a nebulous term. Yes, you can finish one slice of pizza, don’t know about lasagna. Fast food hamburgers don’t sit right with me, even when unless, even In-N-Out Burger (dammit). I’m a little over 2 months out and, when eating out recently, have consumed: - Half of a kids’ (5-inch) pizza - Half of a bacon, egg, and Gouda sandwich from Starbucks - Half of a kids’ tortellini with meat sauce meal from Fazoli’s - A wing and a leg of fried chicken For now, get used to one or all of the following: Ordering from the kids menu (and being appalled at the fact that this is a portion of food intended for a child), splitting meals with another diner, and taking home doggie bags with you. On the plus side, you’ll constantly be clothes shopping for ever-smaller sizes, you won’t have to pay more for larger sizes, and you’ll discover crossing your legs hurts because it’s now bone resting on bone.

No, and I don’t need to know. My surgeon went to med school, not me.

It's already showing up and I'm not crazy about it, but we'll see if it sticks around. If it doesn't, I'll probably look into plastic surgery. I'd like to be able to wear tighter clothes and having a giant-ass pouch around my belly won't help the look.